Nothing is Real
by Catalla12
Summary: Growing up in Liverpool during the 1950s, Catherine Taylor lives her life normally and fully, enjoying it every step of the way like any teenager would. Unbeknownst to her, she plays one of the most important roles in the lives of two of the men that would change the face of music forever: John Lennon and Paul McCartney. *Not ATU*
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! I am new on here and I am super excited to be sharing this with all of you who decide to read this wonderful (well, at least in my opinion) story! Although this is my first story, I have written 9 chapters for it already so I will be posting (****hopefully) every week (unless I forget hehe) :) So, I hope you give this a chance! My writing is still in improvement so I hope you can all bear with me until I finally get the hang of writing a story! But without further adieu, I present to you _Nothing is Real_. Thank you so much to everyone who reads this and let your imagination take you away! Yay! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Beatles *cries* but I do own the wonderful character of Catherine Taylor**

October 9th, 2015

Stepping out of the shade and into the blinding sun, I boarded the bus that was patiently waiting for its passengers with the few things that I had packed from my hotel in London.

Today was finally the day, the day I have been waiting for for such a long time. Easing myself up the steps, I walked past the bus driver, gave him a small smile and made my way towards the back of the bus.

Being a 74 years old had its perks, like the senior citizen discount on my ticket, but also so many disadvantages that I would not even begin to list out.

"Thank God there's only a few people on here," I whispered to myself, settling into a seat near the window. I had never been too keen on large crowds ever since I got lost in a crowd at Blackpool when I was 5 years old. But that was an entirely different story.

I landed in England from New York two days before to embark on this journey that was ahead of me.

Leaving my two kids at home with my husband has been something I have grown accustomed to; traveling around the world has been a lifelong dream since I was very little.

I believe that my family understood it. They have always encouraged it, something I am very grateful for.

They knew all about my past and what I have been through, so I think they would want me to overcome any feelings on despair and regret that I had when I was not travelling and trying to relive my past life once more.

I flattened out my skirt out of pure nerves and gazed over the landscape of England as the bus began to travel towards my destination.

Taking in my surroundings brought up so many precious memories to my mind.

England was my home, my heart, my everything since the time I was born.

June 30th, 1957 Liverpool, England

"JOHN!" I screeched, "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!"

"Ah come on Cat, it was only a joke meant for you to laugh not to scream your bloody head off!" John laughed with a growing smile on his face.

My name is Catherine Elizabeth Taylor, but everyone called me Cat, or at least the people under the age of 20 did anyways.

I was born on September 8th, 1941, thankfully not when bombs were littering the air and streets during WWII.

With long brown hair and sparkling blue eyes, people told me I was the exact replica of my grandmother when she was younger.

I never knew why I took that as a compliment or why people even told me that, but my family always reminds me every time I see them that she was the beauty queen of her age that broke hearts and stole the attention of men from every corner of the world.

Oh, how joyous.

But at 16 years old I had dreams that far exceeded that of a simple minded beauty queen.

I wanted to travel the world, become a musician, super spy that saved the world with her incredible charm and intelligence.

I am obviously kidding, of course. I am not that weird!

In reality, my true aspiration was to become an actress. Hollywood is the goal, I tell every person I meet. Being a superhero could wait until another day. But every potential heroine of her day has to have a weakness, right?

Mine just happened to be… snakes.

"Now, John, tell me exactly _why_ you thought it would be a good idea to put a snake in my mailbox?!" I exclaimed, clearly not amused, but also terribly frightened a great deal.

But I would not let the jerk that I dislike very much at the moment that happens to be standing less than 2 feet away from me see that.

"Well, let me offer you a brief explanation," He began, "I happened to see it crawling all over in the grass by your little tree and I thought, what if the poor creature is scared and all alone in this big, big world?" He explained to me, trying very hard to cover the laughter that was threatening to spill from his mouth.

"I thought it needed a home, ya know? And then I thought, yes! Cat Taylor's mailbox is the exact place a snake would absolutely adore to live." He said throwing his hands up in the air.

Shaking my head with a smirk and with a hand on my hip I said, "Then, Lennon, why don't you crawl in there yourself and make yourself right at home cause the true snake I see here is _you_."

John gasped and put his hand up to his head dramatically as if he were a sliver screen actress, seriously trying to look offended by my weak comeback. I couldn't help but giggle at his crazy actions.

Then with a wink he said, "At least I'll be near you all times of the day then. Only a stones throw!"

He stepped towards me a tightly wrapped his arms around my body as if he truly was a snake. "Oh get off me you nit!" I laughed as I pushed him off me.

He took a few steps back and just winked at me again, in a more dramatic fashion this time. I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head.

Those two gestures were extremely common for me to make whenever I was with him. It was learned over years of his nonsense.

John Winston Lennon and I have been best friends ever since our 3rd year in school. Even though I was one year younger than him, I was in his class because they deemed me to be "special" enough to skip a grade.

One particular day in class, the day we became friends, John had thought it would be absolutely hilarious to throw glue into the braid my mother had oh so carefully done before school that day.

His explanation, "I thought the glue would go along with the dress." I'll admit it, I cried.

My 8-year-old feelings were hurt like they never were before. John had felt so bad afterwards and tried to apologize to me after school when we were walking home, but I punched him in the arm so hard he fell down on the pavement with a bang!

I was so surprised by my strength and he was so surprised by my spunk that we both laughed it off, introduced ourselves and became inseparable ever since.

Thank goodness for that glue, I tell him when we happen to be talking about our childhood. I always bring up the story whenever I am feeling sentimental about our younger days.

He loves, but also hates when I do so he always fires right back with a laugh and says to shove my fist up my ass, obviously remembering that I beat him up.

But, he will never admit that.

I definitely hurt his ego that day, point for me!

"Alright now that the moment of my incredible hilarity has passed, I'm still incredibly bored, what do ya wanna do pussy Cat?" John said, still holding the snake in his hand.

"First of all, please put down the snake and then we'll talk." I giggled nervously, taking a slight step back away from that _thing_. John bent down and placed the snake on the ground.

We both watched it peacefully slither away in oblivion.

Good riddance.

"Second of all, don't call me that unless you want a bruised foot." I taunted, wagging my finger at him.

"You've got me shakin' in me boots, Cat." He said shaking a little, taking my hand to try and shake me too.

He then proceeded to start shaking my hand vigorously in a death grip. "So sorry, so so sorry I'll never do it again, let us be friends. Till death do us part." He said with an overly dramatic British accent.

"Ok, ok Johnny please refrain from doing that, I accept your apology." I giggled, taking my hand from his and rubbing my wrist gently.

John clearly does not know how strong he actually is.

"Alright, Lennon, you're coming with me." I said slinging my arm loosely around his shoulder after a silent moment passed between us. "To cure your boredom, we're gonna go to the place of your wildest fantasies and to the place where all your dreams will come true."

"The strip club?!" John giddily yelled, "Cat, you doll!"

"Ha ha ha, no," I rolled my eyes, "You weren't even close, we're going to the record store! Have to look for some new Elvis records, yeah?"

I shook my legs, poorly imitating the famous Elvis moves.

He laughed at my weirdness, which was normal, and shook his head.

"Some fantasy…" He mumbled, "But, alright, I'm in."

"You might be one of the strangest men that I have ever met in all of Liverpool, John Winston Lennon." I smiled.

"And you're one of the realest birds, but also one of the biggest nutters I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, Catherine Elizabeth Taylor." He said looking down at me, nudging my shoulder.

The realest?

"Well, John, I think that you've forgotten, but," I said, taking my arm off his shoulder and running up ahead of him, "Nothing is real."

I spun around with a laugh and raced off to the store with John close behind me all the way, starting off another beautiful and eventful day in the summer of Liverpool.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! May I present to you chapter 2! Thank you sooo much to the people that read and commented on chapter 1, it means a lot to me! :) I was surprised to see that people actually viewed this lol but I hope you all enjoy this chapter! (Sorry if there are mistakes or some parts don't make sense!) But writing this is truly enjoyable and I can't wait to post more chapters in the future! But anyways, thanks again and I hope everyone's day is going great!**

July 2nd, 1957

A few days had passed since I had last seen John, so I decided to pay him a visit after hanging out with my very dear friend Abigail Evans.

Abigail or Abby as everyone called her, lived a few houses down from John on Menlove Avenue, so it was always easy to visit both of them within a few minutes or so.

I obviously loved to spend time with both of them, but they never liked to hang out with me at the same time for some reason.

That would be just _too_ easy.

John, being the annoying bastard he is, always pesters me that I always spend way too much time at her house. Aside from spending 95% of my life in John's presence, I practically live at Abby's house.

I even have my own closet in their guest room filled with my clothes that I keep at her house because I am that type of friend. So in other words, the guest room is my room. Her parents love me as a second child and I love them like they were my parents, so our values are very mutual when it comes to me being in their lives most of the time.

They have never seemed to care when I took food from their fridge, anyways.

While John and Abby are both on good terms, she does not really trust him like I do due to his "rebellious" nature as she calls it.

I have been trying to convince her otherwise since the first time they met and explain to her that he actually does not influence me to do bad things. "That boy is the devil Cat, El Diablo in flesh and blood!" She always tells me.

And to think that she is the most British person you will ever meet, with not even one drop of Spanish in her blood. Where did she even learn Spanish? She concerns me sometimes, really.

But anyhow, you skip one class with the boy and she goes all "parent" on us. You have to love her though; she's always got my back.

As I walked through the gate and up to the door to knock on John's door, I briefly made eye contact with John's Aunt Mimi through the kitchen window.

Mimi Smith has always liked me, or at least I think she has. But I believe it is always some sort of act she puts up in front of John.

She always casts a watchful eye on us whenever I am with him. Maybe I just so happen to intimidate her. Ha! Coming from a girl that has a fear of the sound of the toaster popping.

Yes, very intimidating indeed.

I lifted my hand to the door to knock, but before my knuckles could even brush the wood, the door swung open to reveal Mimi standing there with a hand on her hip.

"A little late to be coming over, don't you think, Ms. Taylor?" She frowned, obviously not wanting me to be there at the moment.

"Hello Mrs. Smith, how are you? I'm fine, thanks!" I greeted quickly, "But it is only six, and I'm only here to talk to John about the homework." I reasoned with her, trying to sound as angelic as possible as I tried to push back the nerves that were in my throat.

Something about the woman made me _extremely _nervous.

"Catherine, it is the summer and school has been over for weeks." She crossed her arms over her chest, clearly not believing me. "Well as you can see uhh…" I stuttered trying to come up with an explanation.

Why won't she just let me in?!

"There's always time for schooling, Mrs. Smith. Summer? Relaxation? Pshh! More like an extended break from school allowing more time for work, work, work!" I grinned as I gently pushed by her, going to the staircase to walk up to John's room. "College is just around the corner so we have to start preparing for success!" I said with fake enthusiasm.

College? 16 year olds should not have to worry about _those_ kind of things so early, so of course the enthusiasm I had for the topic of advanced schooling was completely nonexistent.

I was out of sight by the time I said that, but I could just imagine her shaking her head with narrowed eyes and making her way back to the kitchen with her apron clasped in her hand. Classic Mimi Smith.

When I got up the stairs, I headed right to John's room, swinging the door open and praying to God that I did not walk in on anything…_unsightly_.

He always did it to me at my house, so I always try to return the sudden invasion of privacy.

For all good fun, of course.

But when I opened the door, though, I found him lying on his back on his bed in the typical John Lennon position: legs up, guitar in hand, casually strumming his guitar and staring at his Bridgitte Bardot poster above his bed.

John looked up from his guitar when I entered and smiled.

"Well 'ello there, it's been a while!" He grinned, strumming his guitar rather loudly and standing up from his bed, slinging it over his shoulder.

I jumped a little at the loud noise that was emitted from the guitar. He always thought it was absolutely amusing when I got scared.

"Good afternoon to you too, Johnny." I laughed as I rolled my eyes at his _fabulous_ sense of humor. Not.

"Ya know, if ya keep doin' that, they'll get stuck up there." He poked my head.

"Like you would know!" I retorted back rolling my eyes again dramatically in spite of him.

He chuckled and shook his head at me, adjusting the guitar on his shoulder. "The ol' bitch givin' ya trouble again from what I heard downstairs?" He asked somewhat sarcastically.

"John Winston Lennon! She is a very nice lady! Not to mention she absolutely adores you, even if she does seem a little mean sometimes!" I exclaimed, defending the infamous Mimi Smith.

John snorted out a laugh and slapped his knee, "My full name, eh? I must be in trouble!" He laughed, "But by nice, you _must _mean a controlling, classic lady stuck in the 1870s then, yes, Cat, you're totally right." He pointed out with a hint of sarcasm.

"Ain't that right, Mimi?" He yelled down the stairs. Silence only filled the house after his outburst. Ignored once again.

"She's gone crackers, I tell ya," He explained, "She can't even hear her own pride and joy anymore." He leaned up against the wall.

"So sorry, John, I know how hard it must be." I sighed, patting him on the shoulder and offering him all the sympathy in the world that I had to give.

"Oh, cut the bullshit, Cat!" John said laughing, "We all know you're toyin' with me, I don't need your sympathy!"

"We?" I looked around confusingly, hoping that Mimi was not standing right behind me, with her infamous disappointed expression gracing her face.

But thankfully, there was no Mimi and John was pointing upwards at his poster when I was searching for an actual human being.

"Rule number one, you can never forget about Bridgitte. Ain't that right, darlin'? He cooed, staring adoringly at the half naked female on his ceiling.

"Its not Mimi that's gone crackers, its definitely you, Lennon." I said rolling my eyes once again.

"Ah bugger off, you're jealous of my affections towards her. Give me a kiss, Cat, I know it is what ya want." He said coming at me with a kissy face.

"First off, ew. Secondly, in your dreams!" I giggled as I stepped away from him with my hands up.

"You'll come around eventually, they always do." He declared with that infamous over confidence of his.

"Oh, that'll be the day!" I laughed throwing my hands in the air.

"Oh okay then, Buddy Holly," He teased, "But I guess if ya won't kiss me, would ya then accept my invitation to the band's practice tonight at Shotton's place? We have that big performance in a couple days, ya know!" He explained, "And we're absolutely gear ya know, and I'm sure Shotton would _love_ to see your pretty face again." He said with a growing smile on his face that screamed "you know _exactly_ what I'm talking about."

Peter or Pete Shotton and I had dated for no less than 2 months last year and Lennon would not let it go. Our brief, failed romance amused him, or at least I think it does.

We were only 15, so nothing even happened between us that even comes close to mentioning. We barely even knew what a relationship should have been like at the time, honestly.

"Peter and I have been over for over a year now so…yeah," I said looking around the room again, trying to avoid the subject, "But I'll gladly come, I've got nothing else better to do since my dad is out and all." I admitted, looking down at my hands.

My dad and I have not been on good terms ever since my mum died two years ago. I miss my mum every day, but I never try to show it in front of my dad because he hated when I used to bring it up to him. He was so in love with her that living without her is unbearable for him nowadays.

I do not think that it helped that I was, as hard as it is to admit, an unplanned child that disrupted him while he was at the height of his career.

My mum had become very sick after I was born, so he had to quit his job in order to look after her. Because of that, we had to move back in with my mum's parents (my grandparent's) house for a while until we got back on our feet.

Living was rough during those years, but we were doing just fine and we lived like any normal family would have. We were planning on moving out until my mother expectantly died of an unknown sickness, much to the total devastation of the entire family, especially me and my dad.

Her death prompted us to stay at my grandparent's house to take care of them until they both tragically passed away one month after each other last year. Their will had left us the house, so that is where my dad and I have lived ever since.

We were never truly the same people after that.

It is a shame that we do not get along and support each other like we used to. I have so many fond memories of him when he was happy.

But the last two years we have been through were absolute hell; my father and I never really recovered from it.

I obviously still love him even though we do not interact like we used to. How could one not love their father? I know it hurts him whenever he sees me because all he can see is my mother.

I always wonder if he feels the same pain as I do. We have not had a good chance to sit down and talk ever since mum passed, so I never know what he is feeling or what he is doing.

Our lives have become just too separated from each other.

"Come 'ed Kitty Cat, we haven't got all night." John announced suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Coming!" I said quickly as I followed him out the door. We had barely passed the gate when we heard a loud tapping on John's window.

"Glasses, John!" Mimi scolded him.

She was always on him about his poor eyesight. John was extremely near sighted and it was always funny to mess with him because of it.

John rolled his eyes and reluctantly took his glasses out of his pocket and put them on.

"Ya know if ya keep doing that, they'll get stuck up there." I giggled, recalling our conversation from earlier.

"Its not me or Mimi that's crackers, its you ya daft bird!" He laughed, throwing his arm around my shoulder as we turned the corner of his street and began walking towards Pete's house.

When we arrived around 25 minutes later because John just_ had_ to stop and get ice cream, Pete, Rod Davis and Eric Griffiths were already there.

We walked through the front door and into Pete's living room to see all 3 guys in there clutching their instruments while watching some show on the television.

"Where the hell is Hanton?" John exclaimed when he looked around to see that Colin was not there.

He didn't even say hello to his friends, how rude.

He was obviously upset that their drummer was not there with them before the "big show."

"He called in sick, he gotta bad cough." Pete replied, "And hello to you too, John! 'Ello Cat." He acknowledged me with a big smile.

Rod and Eric both turned their head my way when they heard my name, flashed me smiles and waved when they saw that I was behind John.

"'Ello lads, nice to see you all again." I smiled with a small wave.

John ignored our interactions and continued on fussing about Colin not showing up.

"What is this, elementary school? He _called _in sick? Call him back and tell em' to get his arse over here!" He implored, "And nice, right before our show too. This guy is fuckin' things up with this so called 'cough' of his." He huffed, running his hand through his already messed up hair.

He then turned to me, "Sorry Cat, I know your virgin ears hate when I swear."

"Oh shut it, Lennon." I blushed, hitting his arm.

"The queen has spoken, Lennon, ya better listen to her!" Pete said amused, pointing at me.

"You too, Shotton!" I said laughing, "But come on guys, I didn't come here to here you whine and complain about a person being sick! Start your playing, you've got a big show coming up and don't want to waste any precious time, am I right?"

"The queen has spoken once again and this time, with words of wisdom." John bowed dramatically, pretending to kiss my hand.

"Come 'ed lads lets go practice," He nodded towards the boys, "Turn off the blasted telly and lets go to the bathroom, the acoustics are better in the there." John said, pointing towards the door down the hall.

"Cat, you can sit outside and listen to us if you'd like!" Eric said as he stood up from the couch.

"Oh I see, I guess you don't _really_ want me to listen to you guys," I pouted, looking away from them, "It's okay, I guess I understand."

"No, not at all!" He reasoned with a laugh, "Well you obviously _can_ come inside, but it gets really crowded in there. Just look at me, I have to sit in the tub!"

"Which means you'd have to sit on Pete's lap." John butted in, grinning evilly.

"Oh uh, never mind then, forget I said anything," My face heated up, "I'll just stay outside."

"Good choice," Rod laughed, "You'll be able to hear us better outside the door, anyways." He whispered to me as we walked.

"Okay, I knew that sitting outside sounded like an absolutely grand idea in the first place, anyways." I smiled confidently, patting his back as I followed them to the bathroom.

I made myself right at home and leaned my head back on the door, anticipating the music.

They then entered the bathroom and immediately started to rehearse "Come Go with Me" by the Del-Vikings, one of John's favorite songs.

Truly enjoying myself, I listened to John's voice as he sang.

Not only did it give me chills, it gave me confidence. I had all the confidence in the world that he'd make it to the very top and achieve the fame that he desired _so_ much.

His voice was so beautiful and distinct from other singers that people had to stop and listen to him whenever the music poured out of him. It was like it was coming from his soul.

"How was it?" John called out to me when they finished the song with a loud clang from their guitars, tearing me from my thoughts.

"I mean, it wasn't _that_ bad." I teased, awaiting John's reaction.

"Open up those lug holes ya call ears, ya git!" John called out to me, sounding like he was hurt.

"I was obviously kidding you guys! It was marvelous; the best I have ever heard!" I told them, "You guys have yourself a new number one fan!" I laughed, putting my hand up to my head and pretending to faint like the super fans that go mad when they hear or their favorite band.

"Ya hear that, lads? She thinks we're gear and we're her favorite band!" Pete happily cheered, opening the door to reveal their big smiles.

"This performance is gonna take us to the top, lads! I can almost taste the fame right on my tongue! Or is that just me ciggy?" John exclaimed with a smile, sticking out his tongue jokingly.

His face was plastered with excitement as he ran over to me and picked me up to swing me around in a hug, chanting about his potential glory.

My excitement truly matched his as they kept on rehearsing through the night. As I listened to song after song, my love for the music grew.

It was impossible not to smile as it filled my brain; without music, I do not think I would know what love truly was.


	3. Chapter 3

July 6th, 1957

I woke up on this absolute glorious day feeling more refreshed than ever.

I did not even have to click snooze once on my alarm clock by my bedside; a first in my entire 16 years of life.

Today was going to be a great day; I could feel it in my bones!

Plus, I dreamed the night before that today was going to be something special. And you always have to listen to the power of your dreams, right?

I jumped right out of my bed like a flash of lightning, excitement filling me and showered quickly.

After showering, I fixed my long brown hair the usual way, natural. The natural look was straight with a mix of curls here and there throughout my entire head. I was thanking God that my hair was super cooperative with me today, another first in my life!

My hair could have a mind of its own sometimes; it was almost frightening. But after praising my hair in the mirror, I ran back into my room and threw on my favorite dress that I carefully laid out the night before.

It was blue that I thought matched my eyes, so, it was my number one choice for obvious reasons. What if I happened to meet the love of my life today or even better, the prime minister! Or the Queen!

You never know what could happen in your life; so, you have to dress to impress on all occasions as I always say.

It was either this dress or it was one from the growing mountain of clothes on my floor that I have yet to sort out and wash. Oh the woes of being the laziest teenage girl in all of Liverpool.

I put on my makeup and raced downstairs to have a quick bite to eat before I headed over to Abby's house.

In my joyous stupor of thinking that I was having a fantastic day, I realized that I had overslept.

A lot.

It was 12:30 in the afternoon, and I was supposed to meet Abby to go over to St. Peter's Church at 1:15. Hopefully she buys the "there was too much traffic" excuse, because there was no way I could make it on time at the rate I am going at this morning.

Or should I say, afternoon.

Since John and his band went on at 2, I had no time to waste! "Make haste, Cat, jeez!" I scolded myself aloud as I entered the kitchen, almost running into my dad who was standing by the doorway.

"Oh, good morning, dad." I greeted quietly, slightly shocked by his disheveled appearance.

Even though we live in the same house, I felt as though it had been weeks since I have last seen him.

And he did not look very good today, at all.

"Morning. Why are you so dressed up?" He asked looking me up and down with a look of slight pain in his eyes.

Blue had also been my mother's favorite color so I am sure that my appearance did not help with his coping. His coping that has been going on for _too damn long_.

"John has his first concert today with the Quarrymen at the church. Would you like to come, dad?" I asked with a glimmer of hope in my eyes, biting my lip.

But I already knew the answer; I really did not know why I even bothered asking him. I held this false hope that maybe just for one day we could go back to our normal life.

"No. I'm staying in today." He mumbled, turning away from me to look out the window above the sink.

"Like always." I whispered, making sure that he did not hear me.

But, secretly, I hope he did. I know that I should not be disappointed because that's my father for you, never wanting to do anything involving me and wanting to seclude himself day after day. Sigh.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later then," I murmured softly to him, "I'll try to be back around 11 tonight, you don't have to wait up for me."

With a slight nod, he continued to stare out the window. I guess that was my cue to go.

With a sigh, I grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl, threw on my shoes and walked out the door, hopping on my bike to meet Abby at her house.

I really did miss the dad that I used to know.

Pedaling as fast as I could, I reached Abby's house in a record time of 5 minutes, making it there only a little bit after 1:20.

Not too bad, not too bad at all.

My legs may have hurt like _hell_, but it was better than the hell I could receive from Abby's infamous "where were you, I've been waiting" speech.

She always had a knack for being extremely impatient. Me showing up late, pretty much anywhere, was not an uncommon thing, so it pretty much my fault that she is as impatient as she is all the time.

"Just sign me up for the Tour de France, prime minister." I panted as I silently congratulated myself, throwing up my bike against Abby's white picket fence. I cringed as it made a loud clang against the white wood, hopefully causing no damage to it.

Beads of sweat had begun to form on my forehead that I quickly wiped away with the back of my hand; I did not realize how much I actually exerted myself.

With my legs slightly wobbling from my historic race through the streets of Liverpool, I knocked on Abby's front door. As I stood there waiting, I questioned myself about how I even made it here on a bike with a dress on in the first place. I continue to amaze myself on this great day!

Her door flew open not even 2 seconds after I had knocked. I looked up at her to see her standing in the doorway with a hand on her hip.

"Christ, Cat, I thought you would never show!" Abby scolded me, "But at least I did have the chance to have a nice cup of tea before your lazy arse decided to appear." She chuckled, turning to grab her purse off the hook by the side of the door.

My wonderful British friend for ya, who I might add, looked super elegant with her blonde hair in a loose bun and a flowing green dress that fit her frame perfectly. She _always_ knew how to dress to impress.

"Okay, okay, okay I might be just a _tad_ late but better late than ever, am I right?" I playfully said as I gave her a big smile, lightly hitting her arm, "Plus did I mention the traffic? It was terrible, absolutely terrible. You would not even believe it."

"Oh shut up, you came here on a bike." She laughed as she pointed to my bike against the fence. I should have known she would not have bought that excuse; she is too observant.

"And by the way wow, you look as though you're ready to meet the Queen! Who's the lucky boy? Lennon I suppose?" She teased as she raised her eyebrows, giving me "the look."

"The look" was a thing Abby always did that inherently said, "you know what I'm talking about." I have always hated it because she could always manipulate information out of me that I did not know I even knew about. This time, though, I did not know what she was talking about at all.

"Pshh, can a girl look nice for a change? Plus, I really think this dress brings out my eyes, don't you think?" I said, bringing my hands up to under my chin and blinking rapidly, most likely obviously failing to look cute.

"Christ! Lennon is right when he says you're one of the strangest girls in Liverpool!" She laughed throwing her head back, "Let's leave before you blink out an eyeball!"

"Hey Abs, with the amount you're using Jesus' name in vain, you won't be able to even enter the church grounds! You're on the way to hell my friend!" I joked, imitating our 8th year religion teacher who _always_ reminded us to never use the good Lord's name in vain.

We always hated that man.

"Well, I'll meet ya down there, we can sight see together and maybe do a little shopping." She winked, pointing her finger at me.

With a hearty laugh from both of us, we hopped on our bikes and we were finally on our way to the church.

When we arrived at the church grounds, it seemed as though the entire city of Liverpool decided to show up. People were getting out of their cars, walking with their families, or they were like us, and rode their bikes with smiles gracing their faces as they walked to the entrance of the church.

As we set our bikes down against the wall, I could not help but wonder about how excited or, dare I say, nervous John must be for this performance.

There were _so_ many people eagerly awaiting good music and entertainment. He had to be losing his wits in some sort of way.

Even though he has the biggest ego in all of England and pretended to be invincible, he could actually act like a normal human sometimes and show feelings, believe it or not.

I searched through the crowd for familiar faces when we walked in through the church entrance along with the crowd of people. I stopped looking around when I spotted John's mother standing by one of the tents, looking beautiful as always.

Julia Lennon has always been one of my favorite people that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. She was so easy-going and fun to talk to, not to mention a caring and devoted mother; even with the craziness she and John went through when he was a child.

Grabbing onto Abby's arm to make sure she didn't get lost in the crowd, we started to head over to her. The crowd seemed to be getting bigger and bigger as time passed by, and I was starting to get pretty nervous.

In reality, I grabbed onto her arm so I did not have a panic attack. I have always disliked big crowds ever since I got lost at a carnival Blackpool had back when I was child. I always felt as though I was trapped, like I could never find my way out of it.

It was an irrational fear, really, but I could never seem to get it out of my mind.

When we reached Julia, we were both greeted with a big, enveloping hug. "My, you two look mighty swell today!" She smiled, looking us up and down, "And Catherine Taylor, dare I say that dress brings out your beautiful eyes and figure. Don't let my John see you in that." She winked as she twirled me around with her left hand.

Abby turned to me to give me a look as if to say, "See?" I elbowed her in the arm, rolling my eyes because I knew exactly what she was thinking.

In my defense, I _did_ tell her that my dress brought out my eyes, didn't I?

"Why thank you, Julia!" I thanked her, giving her a big smile, "But in all seriousness, you look even better than I do!"

"And me too! You don't look a day over 20!" Abby chimed in.

"Oh, you two youngsters tug at my heartstrings." She said, putting a hand over her heart.

Abby and I both giggled at her gesture because she was _exactly_ like John.

I loved her ever since John introduced me to her last year. In the short passage of time that I have know her, she grew to be the perfect mother John could ever ask for and a mother figure to me.

Of course, I do not think that Mimi was overly in love with their interaction, but I believe it is only because Mimi would absolutely hate to lose John again to her sister.

Through it all, I was so overjoyed when I heard that he and his mum were finally spending time together again. It was something he had always wanted.

"You girls came just in time, the Quarrymen are just about to go on!" Julia excitedly clapped, pointing to the stage where the boys were standing.

In disbelief, I looked up at the clock on top of the church to see that it read 1:55.

"Wow, we really were cutting it close." I whispered with wide eyes, looking at Abby.

"Ya think!" She scoffed, throwing her hands up.

I shook my head with a laugh and turned my attention back to the stage. I noticed that John was standing with his band, looking a little anxious and puffing a cigarette. I was staring at the back of his head, studying his Elvis-like hair, until he suddenly spun around and locked eyes with me.

His sudden movement shocked me; it was like he _knew _that I was looking at him.

To cover up my shock and embarrassment of boring holes into his skull, I winked at him and gave him a thumbs up to encourage him and try to make him feel less nervous.

Even if the whole crowd did boo him, he would _always_ have a fan in me. He smiled at me brightly and winked back, visibly relaxing.

Just at that moment, the clock rang, indicating it was finally 2. John looked back at his band and gave an incoherent yell to them, pumping them up as they grabbed their instruments.

Whatever he said, it looked as though he really got their spirits high.

The Quarrymen gathered themselves together and ran up on stage to begin a performance I will never forget.

"'Ello everybody! Ya all look bored to me," John joked as he squinted into the crowd, "Oh wait, that's cause you are and you were just waitin' for us to come on, weren't ya?"

I stifled a laughed at John's attempt to make the crowd laugh, which he achieved with hollers from the crowd.

That was John for you.

With a countdown from 3, the Quarrymen began to perform their first number, "Maggie Mae."

His voice soared through the air like a bird and was extremely pleasing to the ears. If only Elvis was hear to see this!

"As much as Lennon gets on my nerves, I must admit that he has the loveliest voice." Abby admitted to me, pointing to him as he swayed along to the music.

"Told you!" I smiled looking back up at John, moving my body to the song.

John and I locked eyes again as he performed. I took our random, or purely intentional eye contact as a cue to give him a charismatic holler from the crowd as he continued to rock out as he grinned wildly.

When the song ended, everybody cheered and clapped. The consensus from the crowd was unanimous, _they were really good_.

Julia was the loudest of them all, cheering on her son that seemed to have stolen the hearts of every female there. Even Abby of all people looked a little hooked on the Lennon affect that swept across the crowd.

John shouted out a big thank you to his new fans and continued on with the show by playing "Come Go with Me" by the Del-Vikings.

"Yes, my favorite!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands out. In my happiness, I accidentally slammed someone in the face with my right hand. And it was a hard punch, too. Just my luck.

"Quite a punch you have there, luv." Said a quite handsome young man, with big brown eyes and matching dark brown hair styled much like John's was.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, how stupid of me," I said worriedly, putting my hands out, "I didn't even realize you there!" I bit my lip, hoping that I did not give this poor bloke a black eye over my excidedness over a song.

"It's okay, it's not every day I get whacked in the head by a bird like you," He charmed with a wink, "The names James Paul McCartney, but you can call me Paul and you are?" Paul greeted, sticking out his hand.

"Not every day I almost knock out a total knock out like you," I blushed, sticking out my hand.

_Was I flirting?_

"My name is Catherine Elizabeth Taylor, but my friends call me Cat." I took his outstretched hand and shook it gently.

"Cat," He smiled, testing my name and not letting go of my hand, "I am very pleased to meet you."

We continued to shake hands, smiling at each other stupidly until we realized what we were doing and let go.

I blushed wildly and stared at my hand, which seemed to be burning from our contact. He chuckled softly and took a step back from me, looking up at the stage. He then turned back to me, with a soft smile. "You look… stunning I might say, have we met before?" "Thank you, that's very nice of you to say," I blushed, _again_, looking at Abby for help, "And no, I don't think we have."

"Then I'm very happy I chose to come here today." Paul said, looking at me with a big smile.

I softly smiled at him and looked at Abby again. She had put a hand up to her head and pretended to faint as if she were in the presence of Elvis, aka, her one true love. She then initiated for me to continue on…from the ground…just why.

"So…" I began looking back at him, having no idea what to say.

Then, out of the blue, Ivan Vaughn, John's old mate from school appeared, saving me from a potential awkward conversation.

"'Ello Cat! It's nice to see your pretty face again," He smiled, giving me a quick hug, "This here's Paul. I brought him here to take a look at the band and to meet ya guys," He said pointing to the stage, "This lad's got a lot of talent, I'm hoping that John could let him in the band, ya see?"

"Oh hello Paul, it's so nice to make your acquaintance again so soon!" I laughed, "And this here's Abby, my best friend."

"'Ello, handsome." Abby winked, shaking his outstretched hand.

I quickly elbowed her and laughed a little to fill the silence that followed her comment.

"Yeah…So, nice weather we're having?" I shot a look back at Abby, who shrugged it off and started to giggle.

"It's absolutely beautiful out, Cat," Ivan chuckled, smiling knowingly, "But listen, do ya think you could take Paul to meet John with me after the show? I think he'll listen to ya more than me when I ask him to, ya know..." Ivan admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"Of course!" I agreed, "A person with a lot of talent goes a long way in the music business from what I heard." I shrugged, joking around.

Both Paul and Ivan laughed at my comment, smiling at me. The cute boy thinks I'm funny! Score!

"Gear, thanks, luv! It means a lot." Paul grinned at me. "Anytime, Paul." I sincerely smiled back, butterflies starting to form in my stomach.

He stared into my eyes for a moment till I broke away and looked back at John who had just finished the song.

"Yeah, lads!" Abby and I shouted, cheering them on as they stood on stage taking it all in.

The applause from the crowd was thunderous, indicating that they absolutely loved it. There was a photographer taking pictures of the crowd and of the band, which was very cool, because that means that we would get to cherish these memories for years to come!

John was onstage bowing up a storm, taking in all the adoration he was receiving.

"Come on lads," I nodded towards the church, "Let's go in there, that's where they'll all meet after the show. You can meet them there!"

Abby, Ivan, Paul and I walked into the church after saying goodbye to Julia who was practically weeping from pure joy. I took them to the room where the band had left their belongings.

We all sat down on the few chairs that were there and struck up a conversation until John came barreling in with the band close behind shouting, "We fuckin' did it, boys!"

"That was a lotta fun, we really showed them how to do it!" Pete Shotton shouted with glee, doing a little happy dance, "Even Elvis would be impressed!" He swung his hips around.

I laughed out loud at his little dance, causing John to turn his attention to the group and I sitting near the window.

"Ey there ya are, beaut," John greeted, picking me up and twirling me around, "What did ya think of us?" He looked at me with over exaggerated puppy dog eyes, trying to get, I suppose, the best possible answer out of me.

"Stop that, Lennon!" I giggled, "You guys were obviously amazing!" "Still our number one fan, eh?" John wiggled his eyebrows.

"Your number one on the list! No one else could ever beat you." I smiled, holding up my pointer finger.

"I knew it all along!" He boasted, turning his attention to Abby, "'Ello Abigail, you're lookin' _alright_ today," He teased, "Tryin' to get on my good side now, eh?"

Abby rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I hope that I'm never on what you call a 'good side' of yours, Lennon."

"Your day will come, my child, and you will love it," He bowed mockingly to her. "Ivan, how are ya, ya swine?" He greeted him, turning his attention away from Abby and patting him on his back.

"Mighty fine, Lennon," Ivan said, "You performed well today.

"Ay, thanks mate," John thanked him, "Who the hell is this scrawny lad?" He acknowledged Paul, finally turning his attention to him.

"This here's Paul McCartney. He's a mate of mine from school." Ivan said, motioning to Paul.

"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, right? Or can I not trust ya?" John walked over to Paul, "I'm John." He said, putting his hand out.

Paul reached out his hand to John's and shook it. "I'm Paul." He greeted with a smile.

"He can play, John," I blurted in, "And pretty well from what I've heard."

"Oh really now?" John asked, looking at me, "Well, don't just stand there with that dumb look on your face Paulie boy, show the lot what ya got."

Paul looked at me for a moment and I nodded my head, encouraging him to do it. With that, Paul took off his guitar that was slung across his back, put his fingers on the frets and began to play "Twenty Flight Rock."

"_Oh I've got a girl with a record machine…_" Paul began to sing.

_Wow, he is good_, I thought, intrigued by his voice and the way his fingers moved gracefully across the guitar.

Everyone else in the room seemed to be in the same boat as me; they seemed entranced by him. I looked over at John and held back a giggle.

In his eyes you could tell that he was _really_ impressed, but he was trying _really_ hard no to show it. That big ego of his always had to get in the way.

When Paul finished out the song with a strong clang of a chord on the guitar, we all applauded, except for John of course, who seemed to be lost in thought.

Paul stood there waiting for John's reaction, shifting his feet under his hard gaze.

"Well, I thought it was brilliant, Paul." I smiled, breaking the silence.

"Thanks, luv," He grinned back, "I'd hoped you'd say that."

This boy's charm is off the charts, I could not handle it! He could sing, play guitar, plus he was incredibly cute, what else could this boy do that I did not know about?

"What do you think, John?" I asked him, inclining my head towards him, hoping that I could at least inspire him to say something.

"How old are ya?" John inquired, using his "authoritative" voice, something he only used when he was trying to act all high and mighty.

"15." Paul replied, putting his guitar on his back again.

"When?"

"Last month." Paul itched his ear, looking very nervous.

I did not really understand why age really mattered in this type of situation. He had talent, so why did he have to play a game of 20 questions?

"Hmm, okay well tick tock, we've gotta go." John huffed, turning his back to Paul, "We gotta another gig in a few, and I bet you gotta another place to be. Come back when you're older and _really_ know how to play." John uttered over his shoulder, completely dissing Paul.

"Let's go." Ivan quietly said, pulling Paul behind him to walk out the door. I watched as Paul left, with his head hanging low.

He looked up at me one last time, sadness written in his eyes. I gave him a soft smile and a wave before he exited through the door.

I could not let John's brash decision lie; he only said those things because he knew Paul had talent!

I scoffed at John, making sure he heard me, and glared at him when he turned around to look at me. "Cat, what's wrong?" John inquired, taking a step towards me.

But I turned away before he could offer any explanation and ran out the door, hoping that I could catch up to Paul and Ivan to explain John's impaired judgment.

"Paul! Ivan!" I shouted, "Wait up!"

Both of them stopped walking and turned towards me at the sound of my voice. "Please," I panted, catching up to them, "Don't listen to that boy, Paul," I explained, "He knows you're good but he won't admit it because of his big fat ego." I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head, thinking back to John's comments towards Paul.

"S'okay, Cat, It's not the end of the world, ya know?" Paul shrugged, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"But it is if you don't join the band!" I interjected, "The sky will in fact _fall_ if you're not a Quarrymen man!"

"A Quarrymen man?" Paul laughed, looking at me with amused eyes.

"Yes, a Quarrymen man," I grinned, "But do not worry you're pretty little mind McCartney, I'll convince him, you'll see!" I spun on my heel and began to run back to the church at a fast pace, "You just wait and see!"

I shouted one last time over my shoulder, speeding away as fast as my legs could take me.

If Lennon does not listen to me and accept Paul into the band, I will make his life a living hell until he does.

Paul McCartney deserves a chance.

_A Few Hours Later _

"I can not believe you!" I yelled at John while we were walking back home after the band's last gig at the church.

Abby had left before we did, so I had the chance to yell at Lennon without the bias from her.

"You need to let Paul in the band, John. Do it or else."

"Or else what, pussy Cat?" He teased, "You'll hit me? Glare at me? I can handle ya you know."

Okay, I may not be the most imitating girl around, but John must admit that I _do_ have a powerful glare from time to time.

"Let him in the band. You owe it to him," I crossed my arms over my chest, "You were really rude to him back there. I'm disappointed in you, John Winston Lennon, that is not how you treat people you've just met." I told him, looking off into the distance to avoid his eyes.

"Oh sod off, I was not _that _terrible to him," He said, poking my arm a little, "You only want him in the band so band cause you think he's easy on the eyes." He poked my arm again.

I ignored him and continued to look away.

"Right?" He said, "Cat, you still with me?" He waved his hand in front of my eyes, trying to get my attention.

I remained silent. "Catherine Elizabeth Taylor," He groaned, "Answer me, please, just say anything. One syllable would suffice."

I knew that my silent treatment was working; I could tell he was getting impatient. The 5 year old trapped in his 17 year old body was making himself known.

"Fine," He confessed, throwing up his hands, "You win, McCartney's in the band, now will ya talk to me?"

"Really?!" I happily responded, clapping my hands together. It worked! The silent treatment always works.

"Oh, now ya talk to me," John joked, "It's only cause you got what ya wanted." He stuck his tongue out at me and knocked my shoulder with his.

"It doesn't even matter, it's in the past now!" I laughed, pushing him back.

I could not wait for Paul to find out! It would surely lift his spirits deadened by John's lack of judgment.

"Okay but listen, he'll truly be in the band on one condition." John stated.

"Yes?" I asked, turning back to him.

"Ya gotta come to every one of our shows from here on out, no ifs, ands or buts." He pointed his finger upwards, "Plus no googly eyes at Paul when I'm around. I really don't wanna be seein' any of that." He smirked.

"Oh, stop it!" I said, hitting him in the arm, "But, you have got yourself a deal, Lennon."

I shook hands with him, signing off on our deal. Walking off together into the late afternoon, joking and laughing, we pushed back our previous conversation to the back of our minds. What we did not know, though, was just how important our little deal would be to the rest of our lives.

**Pretty corny ending, I know lol! But heres chapter 3 for you! It turned out to be very long so I can't really tell how good it will be, so that os up to you to decide :p But anyways, thank you soooo much to everyone who reads this and pleaseee review, it makes my day a little brighter! Haha I hope you are enjoying this story!**


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